Elle
by lenny C
Summary: Charles was a young guy once. Here's his backstory in between the Current X men and X men first class.
1. Chapter 1

Charles Xavier was not a man to make his deepest thoughts known, although he could do the same to another person in an instant. His students knew him as almost a grandfather figure, someone who looked out for them in their time of need. He tried to be that to his students, his family. Talk to them about their hopes, dreams, and fears. Mutants had to put on a united front in the world they lived in. There was one space in the schoolyard that was off limits. Very few knew why exactly.  
>Scott had been there, as well as Storm. Hank would always ask to go there on his went there from time to time to visit, but it still hurt, even after all these years. The simple gravestone that stood alone in a corner of the yard, away from the everyday hustle. He held a rose in his and gently placed it against the stone monument that simply read "Elle."<br>"Hello, my darling. I've come to visit.," He said softly, and he remembered all those years ago. He remembered her. Her name was Elliot Rosseau. Working with the CIA and Cerebro made it possible to meet felt her presence as he found her cousin, a girl name Lilith whose gift was to hypnotize anyone who heard her sing. He and Eric went to Elliot to recruit her for the government. He walked up to her front door with Eric and Elliot answered. "Oh, he's cute.," Elliot thought to her herself,unbeknownst to her Charles heard every word. He chuckled a bit to himself before asking for Lilith. Elliot excused herself to the second floor of the house while Chalrles and Eric sat down.  
>"What was that all about?," Eric asked with a sly smile.<br>"She was checking me out.," Charles answered

"Human.," Eric scoffed.  
>"Oh,come off it.," Charles said half joking, half serious. The conversation couldn't go any further as Elliot came down with Lilith. Charles noticed the family resemblance. They both were blonde and a bit on the short side, but Elliot's eyes were a shade of Hazel while Lilith's were bright, unnaturally green.<p>

"What's your talent?," Eric asked Lilith. He had his doubts about this girl. She was a teenager fourteen, fifteen years old tops, but he still was willing to give her a chance. Elliot put her hands to her ears as Lillith started to sing. Eric and Charles both drifted off into a trance like state with every note the girl sang. Elliot stood unaffected by her cousin's powers and Lilith stopped,snapping Eric and Charles back into reality.  
>"How would you like to come with us?," Charles asked.<p>

"She wouldn't., " Elliot spoke up in a protective tone. "Not without me."  
>Charles scanned Elliot's mind. All she and Lilith had were each other. Lilith's parents were dead, killed in a car crash. Elliot had begun raising her when she was practically a child herself. Charles felt sympathy for the young woman and human or not she was coming along, his mind was made up.<br>"You can come along with us. We want to help Lilith. That's why we're here.,"Charles said.

Ellliot smiled and Charles felt her relief knowing Lilith was going to be in good hands and among others like her.  
>So it was settled and Elliot came along. She even came with the "X Men on their first mission. Even now Charles could remember that fateful day. The day he stopped walking, and the day Elliot went into a coma. Eric hadn't mean to hurt her, but in the melee of bullets and chunks of metal, she had been knocked in the head. Hard.<br>Her body fell lifelessly on the sand of the beach. "ELLIOT!," Charles cried out turning to her direction. That's when the bullet hit him, and the surge of pain went through his back and lower body before he felt nothing. Moira ran to Charles, apologizing for firing the bullet. All he wanted to know in that moment is if Elliot was all right. He could her Lilith crying. "She won't get up!," Lilith cried out. Charles tried to move his leg to go to her. He couldn't get up either. He never would again.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks were a blur. The wheelchair took some getting used to. Charles was a fairly independent person. Relying on anyone else to help with the simplest things was the hardest part, but he was determined to not to become just another disabled person who couldn't do for others. Elliot was there at the mansion with him and everyone else. Charles insisted she come so he could help her. She was in a deep coma. Her bed was placed in his room and everyday he tried to help her. He could still feel her, but her subconscious was stuck in the deepest recesses of her mind, unable to return to the living world. Every once in a while, he could feel more than just a flicker of brain activity. She was getting better, slowly. Charles created a psychic bridge between their minds, feeding her information little by little. After about a week she had a layout of the mansion and knew who was there. Charles scanned her mind finally got a good hold on her. In reality she had begun dreaming of everything she had been shown. Hank came in on one occasion.  
>"How is she?,"He asked with concern.<br>"She's better. A lot better. I'm starting to see what she sees.," Charles answered as broke the hold for the day.  
>"I just need to figure out how to communicate with her, get her back out here."<br>Charles thought about what to do later that night. The only thing that had a chance of working is something he had never tried before. He decided to try it the next morning.  
>When the sun rose the next day Charles called for help getting ready. "A little early, isn't it?," Hank asked. "I know, but this process may take a while.," Charles answered as he wheeled himself next to Elliott.<p>

"Call if you need help.," Hank said closing the door.  
>Charles immediately found himself in Elliot's dream. The empty mansion was silent in comparison to the normal hustle of everyday life. He concentrated even more, and didn't stop until it felt like ages. Then it happened. Charles found himself standing in the mansion. It worked. He was inside her dream. It felt strange to feel his feet on the floor after having adjusted to his new way of life in reality. He took a few steps to test himself. He stopped and looked around.<br>No Elliott. After taking a moment to build up his mental state he called out.  
>"Elliott, are you here?," He spoke. He walked down the hall, still calling for her. After a few minutes he began to wonder if this would actually work.<br>"I'm in here!," She called out. Charles sped up his steps towards the direction of her voice. There she was in front of him in the kitchen. She smiled at him. "Where have you been?," She asked. Charles smiled then realized she didn't know. She was here the whole time, thinking this was reality. "I've been around.," He said.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where is everyone?," Elliott asked. Charles checked the surroundings. They were the only two inside the kitchen. In fact, now that mentioned it, he hadn't seen anyone in the mental map he had created for her. "They've gone on a mission.," He answered.  
>"Are they coming back soon? You're back."<br>"No. I..came back because I didn't want you to be all alone here."  
>"Oh. Thanks.," Elliott chuckled. "I didn't really like being here by myself. This place is huge and I still get lost."<br>"Sorry about that. I guess I didn't give you proper tour.," Charles said extending his arm.  
>They walked the halls together, arm in arm. Charles pointing out rooms and their purpose now that is childhood home back been converted into a school. He tried to focus on the conversation but it was proving to be difficult. He could feel her every emotion through his telepathy and it was distracting him, taking every ounce of control to keep everything together in this dream world he had created. He couldn't help but feel her sense of security, happiness, and...<br>It hit him like a ton of bricks midway through the walk.  
>"She's in love with me.,"He thought to himself. For being a psychic, he sure was daft about a lot of things. This would make the task easier. She trusted him. He contemplated the situation.<br>How did he feel about her? He had insisted on her bed being next to his in order to make the mental therapy sessions easier, but what that the only reason? He had been so busy with everything going on the past couple of months, but had always managed a few minutes out of the day to talk to her.  
>Granted it was about Lilith, but still. Maybe there was something on his end too. She smiled at him and touched his arm with her free arm. He looked down. When they had they gone from arm in arm to hand in hand, he wondered. He leaned into her and chuckled.<br>"So how do you like it here?," He asked.  
>"It's great. I think Lilith will do great here.," She said.<br>She was deflected off the subject of them. He felt a twinge of fear from her, scared to tell him. For what reason? He did a quick scan deeper into her mind. For being a human? That was it? She thinks he'd better off with another mutant? That wouldn't be the case at all. If anything any hesitation would be on his end. What if she didn't accept his mutation. No, that's not a issue for her. Other people's opinions wouldn't bother her. She accepted him for exactly who he was. That was a good feeling. He had always known she had a schoolgirl crush on him since the day he knocked on her door. Her feelings deepened during the training sessions. She watched him train all the kids with a patience and understanding her parents never gave Lilith which resulted in her raising her cousin right after she graduated high school. A mental image came though. Damn, he thought, I went in a little too deep with the scan. The image in itself was nice. He was coming back from a mission, smiling as she walked up to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. They looked happy. Very happy. He could feel her hope, her joy in wanting this. Seeing the image made him...content. Maybe it is what he wanted...  
>He wouldn't have time to complete his thought. The mansion began fading out, walls disappearing around them. Elliott was strangely calm. He had to keep her that only thing that made sense was she must be slipping out of REM dream state. He didn't panic or look around at the strange surroundings.<br>"I'll see you later, all right?," He said. Elliott nodded and smiled. He kissed her on the cheek. It felt real, he could feel her skin on his lips. Her smile widened and she looked down bashfully.  
>"Charles.," Hank said sternly and repeated his name louder when he didn't get and immediate response.<br>"Huh? What," Charles snapped up in his chair.  
>"Are you all right?," Hank asked.<br>"What? Of course, why wouldn't I be?"  
>Hank looked at him strangely.<br>"You were gone all day."  
>Charles looked out the window to see the sun setting in the distance.<br>"Come on, we need to get some food in you.," Hank said with concern as guided the wheelchair looked back over his shoulder to see Elliott lying still in her bed, IV's in her arm to feed her and monitors beeping behind her head.  
>"Don't worry. I'll come back for you, and I won't stop until You're out here with us...with me.," He thought to her, hoping she could hear him.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning didn't start as early. Hank had asked for a brief meeting before Charles went back into Elliot's mind. His demeanor was serious as he sat in front of Charles.  
>Hank sighed and began to tell Charles of his findings after some medical tests on Elliott.<br>"She's not going to last much longer. A week, maybe a week and a half.," Hank said.  
>"Is there anything you can do?,"Charles asked. "I'm doing everything I can, but feeding her through IV's just isn't getting her the nutrients her body needs. Have you made any progress?"<br>"Not enough. I was just able to communicate with her yesterday. If I can through to her again, I may be able to help her, tell her the world she's in isn't real."  
>"Charles, I checked the data when you were in her head yesterday. Her brain became very unstable. If you tell her and she can't handle it...anything could happen. She could start seizing, possibly a nervous breakdown or she may just die right out."<br>"So, the two options are Watch her die by starvation or die by her world collapsing?I have to do something for her..."  
>Hank said nothing, only gave Charles a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you'll find a way. Good luck.," Hank spoke before walking away. Charles sat facing Elliott. He was so involved in her dream world, seeing her healthy there that he hadn't been really paying too attention to the "real" Elliott. Her skin was ashen, her eyes starting to look sunken in. Hank's warning was fresh in his mind. He weighed out his options.<br>How could he tell her without causing her brain to overload? Should he even keep trying, he thought to himself before quickly dismissing that thought. Without this, she'd surely die rather than possibly die. There was no other option as far as he was concerned.  
>Ever since yesterday their mental bond was stronger. He could see her thoughts, see her dreams.<br>He was in a lot if then, making it hard to tell if he felt the same just yet, trying his damnedest to recognize his own emotions past empathy for hers.  
>There was one dream in particular that had touched him. He had felt her pain and desperation.<br>The day Elliott and Lillith had to go out on their own. Elliott left to use the restroom during church, and when she came back into the sanctuary the whole congregation was on the floor as if they had all just fallen out in the middle of what they were doing. Everyone except Lillith, up on stage with the children's choir crying her eyes out. "I don't know what happened.," Lillith sobbed as she wiped tears from her eyes. Elliott stood in shock for a moment then ran up to her younger cousin.

"Everything will be all right...," Elliott said soothingly as she crouched down to be at eye level with Lillith. Then she noticed her eyes. Lillith's eyes had always been green, but never this shade of neon green. Elliott looked around, then back at Lillith.  
>"We have to go, NOW!," Elliott said as she grabbed Lillith's hand and ran out of the church.<br>They ran all the way home, nearly four miles. They had only been there for a few minutes when Elliott heard her father's truck pulling up peeling through the driveway.  
>"Ronald, we don't even know if they came here!," Elliott mother yelled out.<br>"Where else would they have gone, Eleanor?," He shot back. The anger in his voice all too apparent. Elliott and Lillith stood up from the couch trying not to let their terror show, not an easy task for an eighteen and eleven year old. The door flew open and the two girls cried out and it smashed into the living room wall.  
>"Couldn't face everyone after what you did, could you little demon?," Ronald yelled as pointed at Lillith. The little girl stood silent in fear, then jumped with Ronald's "WELL?"<br>"She's not a demon...," Elliott began before her father cut her off.  
>"Yes, she is! All of this is in the bible. Eleanor! Go get my shave kit. Elliott; strip her down so I can check for the mark of the beast."<br>Eleanor stood in shock at Ronald's order even though she had to admit she was now afraid of her little niece. Elliott looked at her father incredulously.  
>"Do it you two, NOW!," Ronald hollered. "NO!," Elliott yelled back.<br>Ronald stormed up to his daughter and slapped her across the face hard enough to make her head snap back. Eleanor gasped and Lillith began to cry. No one dared stop Ronald. He hit Elliott again. And again.  
>Eleanor finally screamed at him to stop when Elliott was lying on the floor. He beat the hell out of her. To this day Elliott had a small scar on her chin from hitting a table as she fell to the floor.<br>"You listen to me.," Ronald growled out between clenched teeth. "If you love that minion of Satan so much leave this house with her and never come back. I don't have a niece anymore, or a daughter."  
>Growing up in that atmosphere with her parents' attitude towards mutants, towards anyone different (her father was also a racist and had no qualms about making that known) Elliott could've been full of hate and rage herself. However,she was the complete opposite. Charles looked at her still form affectionately and kissed the top of her head before making his link.<br>He was in the hallway of the mansion. One of the doors was ajar and he opened it. Elliott was in the room, sitting on the bed as she looked out the window. The sky was red, the light casting an ominous glow in the room. Charles wasn't doing this. Maybe it meant she was beginning to have more control of her surroundings. Elliott looked up and smiled.  
>"Charles, you're here. I get so scared when I'm alone.," She said as she walked out to him. He wrapped his arms around her.<br>"It's all right. I'm here now." One of his hands moved up to her hair and he pulled her closer.  
>"Elle...," Charles said as she looked up at him. Something was different about his voice, it was soft and gentle.<br>He looked down at her and smiled. This is what he wanted. He kissed her, but this was different than the last time he was here. Instead of the quick peck on her cheek he kissed her lips and let it linger. Then he was Suddenly he was back in his room in an instant, with no recollection of what happened after that. He looked down at Elliott and could swear it looked like there was a faint sign of a smile on her face. Something happened, something intense. A little too intense for him to jump back in right now, but time was running out. All he could do was try again tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

That night he dreamt. If you could call it dreaming, more like remembering. He remembered the red sky, the way is made the whole room a shade of crimson. He remembered the way it looked against her tan skin...  
>It was coming back in fragments. Clothes were coming off. They were in the bed. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. He was still feeling her emotions. Joy, love, pleasure.<br>He was watching the scene unfold like a fly on the wall then it hit him. She doesn't know. She has no idea he's in a wheelchair now. He could only do so much with his power to feed scenery in her mind, the rest was up to her and she saw what she wanted to see. When she woke up, if she woke up he'd have to break the news to her. He woke up with a start to Hank shaking him.  
>"Charles!," Hank said with his voice full of alarm. "CHARLES!"<br>"Wha..what's wrong?," Charles answered groggily.  
>"She's having a seizure!"<br>"Oh,my god. Get me up!," Cried cried up, waking up instantly. Hank helped him into his chair and Charles watched helpless as Alex held Elliott's body as it convulsed violently.  
>"Alex, keep holding her. Hank do what you can for her.," Charles said as he got his bearings.<br>It's now or never, he thought to himself as he positioned himself to make the link.  
>"What are doing?," Hank asked in a shocked tone.<br>"The only thing I can.," Charles answered.  
>Charles was in the mansion. The scene in front of him was horrifying. Walls around him were crumbling and the whole building shook. Charles looked around in fear. He plucked up his courage with one goal in mind.<br>"Elliott! Elliott!," He cried out as he raced down the disappearing hallways. He found in the room they were in last night. She was huddled in a corner crying her eyes out.  
>Charles ran to her and gathered her ups in his arms. She was shaking and still bawling as she wrapped her arms around him. Charles ran out of the room and followed the direction of steady ground, the scenery behind them still falling apart. Charles saw an open door leading to the outside of the mansion and ran through it. Outside was just as bad. Dark clouds covered the sky making it seem like night rather than day. The wind howled all around them and nearly knocked Charles off his feet. He could see a tree in the distance and made a dash for it as he tried with all his might to keep Elliott in his arms. Somehow they made it. He laid Elliott down sat down against the tree and pulled her in his lap. He looked up.<br>The mansion was gone. Where it once stood was just blackness in the sky. The darkness was headed right in their direction.  
>"Elliott, you have to listen to me.," Charles said as he looked down at her.<br>"None of this is real. You're in a coma."  
>Elliott looked up with confusion, then clarity as it sank in.<br>"Where am I really?," She asked. "You're in the mansion. I helped you see what it was like so you weren't wandering aimlessly in your mind. You're on life support but it's not going to last much longer."  
>"Am I dying?," Elliott asked.<br>"Yes, but you can stop that from happening if you wake up. Concentrate Elliott. Concentrate on getting out of here."  
>She tried to will herself awake and closed her eyes tight. When she opened them there were still under the tree.<br>"I can't do it."  
>"You have to!"<br>Elliott looked around the surroundings, then back at Charles. The look in her eyes was defeat.  
>"Get out here.," She said as she looked away from Charles.<br>"What? NO."  
>"Get out of my head while you still can."<br>"I'm not leaving you here."  
>The blackness was only a few hundred feet away now, and coming up towards them fast. "Please Elliott. Try one more time."<br>She did. and the blackness stopped in it's tracks, coming to a halt and the wind slowed down before picking back up.  
>The darkness turned to light, a light so bright Charles pulled Elliott into him to sheild her eyes and he used to his free hand to cover his face. The light enveloped him and then there was nothing.<br>Charles' eyes snapped open. Hank was still there and Alex too. They were looking down at Elliott. Charles wheeled around to her from the side. She wasn't breathing. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.  
>"Elliott! Elliott, no! Come back!"<br>She still laid there unresponsive. Then he felt it. Her hand squeezed back, gently at first then her grip tightened. Her eyes fluttered opened. She turned to her left and saw Charles as he has smiled at her.  
>"Where am I?," She asked as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.<p> 


End file.
